[hinkley]

This is not a rhetorical question:

Do you still want to live close to SV when you're not working there anymore?

Your burn-down rate for your retirement fund is predicated pretty substantially by the standard of living you maintain after you retire. If a lot of your day to day activities become indefensible once you can't justify it based on work concerns, then your costs may be lower.

Look, for instance, at all the fancy cars that real estate agents have to drive to exude competence. They end up leasing a high end car, when maybe all they want is a 2013 Subaru Outback for activities and half a closet of clothes from Duluth and Patagonia that last forever. Once you pull on that thread, then moving to an exurb might make sense too.

[christiansakai]

Not really but I do still want to work with smart people. I guess I'll never be able to FIRE then.